Citizen Action Northwest Organizing Cooperative

09/01/2026

Nationwide, the median drive time between hospitals providing inpatient maternity care to Medicaid enrollees and the closest in-state alternative is 43 minutes for rural hospitals compared with 13 minutes for urban hospitals, the analysis found.

The study by KFF, a healthcare research organization, suggests that the closure of rural obstetrics units will accelerate as a result of the healthcare changes included in the broad tax and spending measure President Donald Trump signed last summer. That law will reduce some payments to hospitals and cut Medicaid enrollment by introducing work requirements.

Already, rural obstetric services are diminishing at a rapid rate: From 2010 to 2022, 238 rural hospitals closed their obstetrics units while only 26 hospitals opened new units. In 2023, almost half of rural counties did not have a hospital offering obstetrics services...

Brittni Frederiksen, the lead KFF researcher for the report, said in an interview that rural hospitals already operate on thin margins, and that the additional cuts could push some of them over the edge.

“There are likely going to be rural hospitals that close their obstetric units or have to close the entire hospital, and so people will have greater distances to travel to safely deliver a baby,” said Frederiksen, an associate director at KFF who specializes in women’s health policy...

“We already have a maternal health crisis in this country, and already have very poor outcomes when it comes to delivering babies safely in this country. And then in rural areas, in particular, people already have to travel long distances to deliver,” Frederiksen said.

“Anytime you increase the distance to delivery, you know the likelihood that it could result in poor outcomes increases.”

Read more >> https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/09/01/repub/more-rural-hospital-closures-would-mean-long-drives-for-pregnant-women-seeking-obstetric-care/
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We know in northwest WI the crisis with our hospitals and health systems is much bigger than Trump's devastating cuts.

Large hospital chains have been allowed to operate as non-profits in name only. They ruthlessly price-gouge consumers and use the windfall profits to expand into new markets, driving their competition (smaller hospitals) out of business and exerting monopoly control over entire regions.

In Wisconsin, the Legislature enabled this predatory business model in the 1980s. Acting under the influence of hospital industry lobbyists, the Legislature exempted the hospital industry from public oversight, repealing basic consumer protections. Lobbyists promised that once their industry was deregulated, hospitals would more efficiently provide high quality care at an affordable price to every community.

Instead, the hospital industry abused our trust. They built massive hospital chains focused on providing the most profitable types of medical services while neglecting services communities need most, like mental health care, substance use treatment, and primary preventive care. In their relentless drive to corner the market, hospital chains drove up healthcare costs, destabilized the medical care system, and failed to provide the services that keep people healthy.

Our state legislature has the power to put the guardrails back in place to lower costs for consumers and stabilize our teetering healthcare system. Until they act, our medical bills and insurance premiums will keep going up–and every community in the state risks suddenly losing critical healthcare access.

Citizen Action members are working with state Senator Dora Drake on a Hospital Accountability Act that will take a first step to creating an affordable, accessible health care system that: (1) Works for patients by returning public oversight to the prices the big hospitals charge, requiring fair prices based on the actual cost of service; (2) Ensures hospitals demonstrate the community need for any costly new medical service and capacity. This will prevent wasteful over-building, which drives up consumer costs.

To learn more about the developing legislation and to get involved in our organizing in support, contact: [email protected]

Rural hospitals are closing or dropping obstetric units, a trend that will accelerate because of cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

09/01/2026

"Let Data Reign." - President Trump

https://abcnews.com/Politics/data-reign-trump-stands-firmly-controversial-data-centers/story?id=136092127

We strongly disagree.

Citizen Action continues to call for a pause in state data center construction until there is a strong regulatory framework in place that assures they will not accelerate the climate crisis or raise utility rates, are powered by cheap 100% clean renewable energy, and are only built and operated by union workers with the approval of local residents.

Sign and send a message to your state legislators urging them to support legislation:

(1) Calling for a Data Center Pause &
(2) Capping Utility Rates at 2% of Income

https://tinyurl.com/PauseDataCentersWI

To learn more and join our organizing, contact: [email protected]

Trump argued that data centers will make communities "successful and rich."

08/28/2026

On the NEW Battleground Wisconsin Podcast we highlight the great organizing by western Wisconsin community members and GROWW, that resulted in a judge striking down a CAFO permit from the Wisconsin DNR because it does not do enough to protect groundwater.

We briefly review the new MU Law Poll, which unsurprisingly shows a tight race for Governor. We push back on conventional punditry about the poll’s findings.

Listen now >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg755

We welcome Peter Rickman, president of the MASH union, to discuss why the richest nations in the world, the G20, are coming to Milwaukee in late September. We preview a rally on September 30th where Citizen Action will join with labor and civil society organizations outside the G20 meeting to call for a new trade model that creates good-paying jobs, raises wages, enforces worker rights, strengthens family farms, protects the environment, enables A.I. accountability and otherwise puts people over profits.

Speaking of authoritarians, we close the show with State Representative Amaad Rivera-Wagner who lays out the clear case against Elon Musk for violating Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws, and the head-shaking decision of the LaCrosse County District Attorney to pass on prosecuting the powerful billionaire.

Listen now >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg755

08/27/2026

New report, called “Break Up Big Medicine,” identifies the drivers of American health care dysfunction as corporate infiltration, relentless consolidation, vertical integration, and an endless series of middlemen and new methods for extracting public money.

"In effect, the public pays twice: first through higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and then through higher government payouts to corporate health care companies. The United States spends the equivalent of $15,000 per year for every man, woman, and child on health care; this is around 20 percent of the economy and more than twice the level of other industrialized countries...

The belief perpetuated by rising costs that America can’t afford to provide its citizens with medical care is incorrect, advocates argue: Solutions outlined in the report are estimated to save not $700 million, but $795 billion annually, primarily by reducing administrative bloat and corporate profit-taking.

'In tandem with moving toward a Medicare for All system, we have to address consolidation that is the cause of health care being so expensive, with degraded quality, and the squeezing of health care professionals,' said Emma Freer, one of the co-authors of the report. 'Otherwise we end up with something like Medicare Advantage for All, which would be disastrous.' ...

The consequences of handing over health care to Big Medicine have been immense. The cost of coverage through employers has tripled since 2005, and another 10 percent increase is expected next year. Prices charged to commercial insurers are double that of Medicare. When private equity buys out a physician practice, prices immediately jump 11 percent."

Read more >> https://prospect.org/2026/08/27/health-care-reform-universal-coverage-medicare-for-all/
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Wisconsin pays some of the highest costs in the nation, and yet hospitals across the state are either closing or cutting vital services such as emergency care and birthing units, especially in rural areas and urban neighborhoods.

Large hospital chains have been allowed to operate as non-profits in name only. They ruthlessly price-gouge consumers and use the windfall profits to expand into new markets, driving their competition (smaller hospitals) out of business and exerting monopoly control over entire regions.

Our state legislature has the power to put the guardrails back in place to lower costs for consumers and stabilize our teetering healthcare system. Until they act, our medical bills and insurance premiums will keep going up–and every community in the state risks suddenly losing critical healthcare access.

A Hospital Accountability Act that will include the following as first step to creating an affordable accessible health care system that works for patients:

1. The restoration of Wisconsin’s Hospitality Affordability Board, recklessly repealed in the 1980s. This will return public oversight to the prices the big hospitals charge. The Board will require that hospitals provide fair prices based on the actual cost of service.

2. The Fair Hospital Competition Act will ensure hospitals demonstrate the community need for any costly new medical service and capacity. This will prevent wasteful over-building, which drives up consumer costs.

If you are interested in learning more about the bill or joining our organizing in support, contact: [email protected]

Medicare for All without tackling the extreme consolidation in health care would just funnel money to corporate behemoths, a new report states.

08/25/2026

Is anyone really surprised that election denier and conspiracy theorist Derrick Van Orden used a 100% fake video lying about what his opponent said?

This video follows a dangerous Van Orden ad where he brandishes a gun and clicks the trigger and then says his opponent is dangerous to the state.

Voters must reject this in November!

The fake video purports to show Van Orden’s Democratic opponent saying things she never said.

08/24/2026

Another beautiful summer weekend to talk to voters in our communities about the issues the matter to them. We are organizing community members to lead the fight in 2027 for a state budget that will raise revenue (tax the wealthy and end corporate tax breaks) to properly fund our public schools, provide affordable healthcare and childcare, and fund for our municipalities.

We want to talk to you! Sign up for our Listening Survey to speak with a Citizen Action organizer >> https://secure.ngpvan.com/Jf4dIqlydUminZ4WufJnfQ2

Whether it’s the rising cost of healthcare, housing, utilities, groceries, childcare, or low wages, too many people are being forced to make impossible choices just to make ends meet. We believe the people most affected by these challenges should have the strongest voice in shaping the solutions.

We are gathering stories and feedback as part of our statewide listening campaign. The information we collect will help guide our legislative priorities as we advocate for policies that make healthcare more affordable, lower everyday costs, and build an economy that works for everyone.

Sign up to speak to Jeremy Gragert >> https://secure.ngpvan.com/Jf4dIqlydUminZ4WufJnfQ2

08/21/2026

$20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Milwaukee, Visti with Rep. Christian Phelps in Eau Claire, organizing support for the BadgerCare Public Option in rural Wisconsin, “Dump Big Tech Week” in Green Bay, and more!

Read the new Citizen Action Weekend '26 Newsletter >> https://citizenactionwi.org/2026/08/21/weekend26-august21/

Have a great summer weekend!

08/21/2026

This week we dig into the criminal justice reform most needed in the next legislation session with Mark Rice, WISDOM Wisconsin’s Transformational Justice Coordinator. Before we get to that vital topic, we provide the latest Tick Report which has surprising findings on the true origin of Lyme disease. We also dig into the first week of the general election campaign for Governor, where AI Data Centers have taken center stage and where MAGA Tom Tiffany is trying to label David Crowley as the lap dog of big tech.

Listen to the show >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg754

Mark Rice discusses the historic day this Friday when for the first time in 25 years incarcerated Wisconsinites will receive commutation hearings. We dive deeper into what more can be done in 2027 to reduce the state’s prison population and discuss new polling showing a majority of Wisconsinites favor a form of clemency for some individuals.

We debrief Wednesday evening’s $20 Minimum Wage Town Hall in Milwaukee where over 50 community members and leaders learned more about the legislation, and why it is needed in this moment in history and what it would mean to people who attended the town hall.

Listen to the show >> https://soundcloud.com/citizen-action-of-wi/bg754

08/20/2026

Real leadership on a critical issue for all Wisconsin's working families in every county in the state.

There are 800,000 Wisconsin workers who make less than $20/hour, 30% of workers, and yet in every area of Wisconsin the living wage, the amount needed to afford the basics of life, is over $20 per hour for a single person!

Many people who make above the living wage also have trouble making ends meet and getting ahead because their wages are also depressed by the artificially low wage floor in Wisconsin. When the minimum wage is increased all boats are lifted.

Learn more about the legislation Senator Dora Drake is sponsoring and take action, urging your state legislators to support the bill >> https://citizenactionwi.org/20-minimum-wage/

To join our campaign for $20 Wage in 2027, contact, [email protected]